On a beautiful spring day when scads of visitors are walking Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s grounds, consider slipping away for a bit to check out the library’s latest exhibit, “Garden Ink.” It’s so Richmond.

As one of the most tattooed cities in the country, Richmond employers inevitably have staff with ink. Even 20 years ago, some employers required that public-facing staff wear long sleeves to cover tattoos at work. Fast forward to 2025 and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is celebrating the artwork of the body with “Garden Ink: A Staff Tattoo Showcase.”

Using Homes and Habitats, this year’s garden theme, the exhibition demonstrates how the art that’s chosen for our bodies connects to the natural and social environment that shapes us. The photographs that make up the showcase reflect tattooed bodies as seen in nature: against plants, with dirt scattered over a thigh, with a vine wrapped around an arm. Each photograph is accompanied by a sign providing information such as the tattoo artist’s name, Instagram and shop, the subject of the tattoo and, in some cases, information about the staff member and their tattoo.

Guest Services coordinator Derby E. got her first tattoo as a matching tattoo with one of her best friends. They met while at school in Boston and got their tattoos together as a parting gesture before both moved away. “It’s an eight ball that says, ‘I Love You’ at the center,” Derby says. “It was a drawing that I did, and we had one of their artists tattoo it for us.”

Now with five tattoos adorning their body, they chose to highlight their nature-based pieces, seeing Garden Ink as about celebrating the staff’s love for all things botanical. Derby also sees their participation as a way to share more about their connections to the art of tattooing and about themselves.

“My tattoos act almost like a locket. They’re pieces of memories and loved ones that I carry with me every day,” they say. “They express the parts of myself that are important to me, hold the love I have for the people they’re connected to and create community, both with artists as well as in day-to-day conversations.”

The tattoos are as varied stylistically as they are in subject matter. From monochromatic elk antlers tattooed on either side of Seth Jones’ neck to the vivid hues of Clara Aus’ green Tiger Beetle, the exhibit shows an appealing range of body art. Emily Koci’s ladybug tattoo takes its colors from being photographed with brilliant red flowers with yellow centers. As with Derby E., Clare Reines’ got a reciprocal tattoo—hers is of a fairy riding a slug—with a friend. “I got this with my best friend, who has a matching fairy on a grub,” Reines writes.

Jayton Howard’s first tattoo was of the word ‘Boogly’’ in a simple black font he drew himself and had put on his left shoulder after he turned eighteen. Boogly was the childhood nickname given to him by his mother. “I thought by having that as my first tattoo, my mom couldn’t complain about it and when I showed it to her, she almost cried she loved it so much,” he says. “Man, oh man, did it hurt more than I expected, but not enough to keep me from going back for more.”

He now has upwards of 80 tattoos, the majority on his left arm displaying a major compilation of small tattoos of all his favorite things or something that connects with a special memory. The tattoo shown in the exhibit is of kodama, which in Japanese folklore are spirits that inhabit trees. It’s also a nod to his many connections with Japan, which he visited as an exchange student in middle school and his family hosting Japanese exchange students while he was growing up. “I’ve always loved the kodama and felt connected to the idea of them as a plant geek,” he says. “And I really wanted a tattoo that celebrated my connection with Japan.”

Not surprisingly, many of the tattoos shown in the exhibit were executed in Richmond. Derby E. says Richmond has been their favorite place to get tattooed. Howard agrees, seeing this exhibit as Richmond to its core.

“We’re a very eclectic city full of inspiring people with so much to offer and the garden itself strives to provide authentic connections to the community,” he says. “Especially with how inked up Richmond is as a city and how inked up our staff members are, it’s such a great way to celebrate our team and members of the greater Richmond community.”

“Garden Ink: A Staff Tattoo Showcase” runs through March 27 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Ave. Lewisginter.org